How to Stop Wasting Food and Save Money

Want to stop wasting money because you are wasting food? Want to stop looking at your over-stuffed refrigerator wondering why there's nothing to eat? Want to save money as well as your time and possibly save on your electric bill?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• refrigerator
• cleaning products
• label maker (opt)
• plastic container, no lid, large
• jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with 1" sides)
• ziploc bags
• a full stomach

1. Start by analysing what food tends to get wasted at your place. Do the veggies turn to mush? Does the milk go bad too soon? Do leftovers get lost? Figure out where your problem lies, and begin.

2. Clean out your refrigerator completely. ALL OF IT! Use a gentle cleaning product (I use Scrubbing Bubbles) to start at the top and clean downwards to the drawers. Remove each drawer and clean with hot soapy water. Use a soft rag to dry all shelves and drawers. Make rack adjustments if need be to fit your milk cartons better, or to expose more space. Don't be afraid to completely remove a rack if you don't need it.

3. Don't stuff your fridge with food. It takes more electricity to cool it, and if it's packed tight you won't see things and you'll forget them. The food that is in your fridge should mainly be condiments, dairy essentials, and food that will be eaten that week.

4. If wasted veggies are a continual problem, consider using frozen vegetables for cooking. They can actually be more nutritious, as they are flash frozen rather than sitting in the store and drying out. Also, they are already chopped, cleaned, and colorful. Just buy a good brand for flavor.

5. For the fresh veggies you do buy, give up on those vegetable drawers. Unless you know how to use the dials for freshness, they aren't doing you much good anyway. Instead, keep produce in the bags you purchase it in (or in sealed ziplocs)and place all these in a plastic container, about 12" wide by 12" deep, 2" or so high. This corrals them so you can place this IN VIEW on a higher shelf. It doesn't need a lid. If veggies are washed, make sure you dry them when you store them to avoid early spoilage.

6. Learn to rotate food and dairy products. If your milk gets pushed to the back when someone buys a new carton, it'll be a waste as everyone will drink the newer container. Same with yogurt, sour cream, creamer, etc. Always take the time to put the new stuff in back and place forward the older (still good) items.
   
   Also, always keep the lids tightly sealed on milk and dairy products to prevent early spoilage. They pop off easy so keep some extra lids before you recycle the containers and you'll have spares.

7. When putting food back into the fridge, try keeping like items with like. Jarred foods such as pickles, salsa, and relish should go together, as should salad dressings. Wipe down each container if need be. Combine items if you have two open of one thing if both are usable.

8. Use another plastic container to control sandwich makings if you make lots of sandwiches. The container should be sized to hold mustard and mayo, sliced cheese and lunchmeat, and even the empty sandwich bags can go into it. This way, to make a sandwich you grab ONE container and it's all there for you, no searching for the missing mustard. This can be tucked into a lesser exposed portion of the fridge since you know it's there.

9. Don't refrigerate regular peanut butter. It just annoys everyone that uses it!

10. Find out what items you use the most (cheese, butter) and place them in the vegetable drawers. You know you'll be searching for them so they won't likely go bad from being out of sight.

11. For storing raw meat, use a bottom shelf and place the meat (keep it in the store bag)on top of a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. This way if it drips yucky stuff, it stays on the pan and doesn't expose the rest of the fridge to germs and bacteria. Make sure you keep this habit, and rinse the sheet when you use the meat.

12. Don't put things in the fridge near the back center panel where the fan is located. Don't crowd items either, as you want to save electricity by letting the cooling air circulate easily.

13. Keep one shelf or drawer for leftovers, and label it as such. These can be stored in plastic containers, but zipper bags seem to keep out more air and keep things fresher (IMHO). Make sure this shelf is visible. Use leftovers within one day.

14. Once items are located where they are easily seen, with plenty of space, use the label maker to make a sign for that spot, so when food is put away everyone knows where it goes. When possible, but taller items in back so that you can see everything.

15. Again, notice what foods you ended up tossing. Was it the pickled asparagus needed for one recipe? The tahini for the hummus you never made? Be honest about what you don't use and don't purchase items that you may not finish or need for only one recipe. Try to locate a substitute if possible.

16. A refrigerator uses more electricity than most products in your home, next to the clothes dryer. So remember these tips: adjust your settings to best keep things cold but not freezing (you DO have a freezer, right?). Some people think keeping the fridge extra cold keeps things fresh longer, but it can make veggies go bad faster. Frozen lettuce? No good!

17. To continue saving energy, don't put a hot food item (such as soup) into the refrigerator while hot. Let cool slightly on the counter, covered, for a half hour or hour so that your refrigerator doesn't use tons of electricity to cool it.
    Also, use a damp rag to wipe the seals around the door so that it can always shut tightly. You can keep the door closed more (saving power) because you've made it easy to see what food you have. Don't let it get cluttered.

Tips & Warnings

• spending just a few moments each day putting things where they go in the fridge will save you time in the long run, and you'll avoid wasting food that was forgotten.
• for goodness sake, be careful with electricity! Make sure there's no possibility of an electrical shot when you clean.